Apple's new toy takes Maps indoors

Purchase may help the improving Maps app tackle Google

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Apple is hoping to boost its much-maligned Maps application by acquiring a start-up location service that pinpoints a user's position when they're indoors.

The company has paid a reported $20 million (UK£13.1, AUD$19.1) for the two-year-old WiFiSLAM company, which uses local Wi-Fi signals to identify the exact location of a device when GPS isn't available.

The Silicon Valley-based company currently licenses its technology to retailers and social networks, such as supermarket apps that guide users to products within the store.